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Safety
Last (1923)
In this well-known silent romantic "thrill comedy"
from co-directors Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor - it was most notable
for its hair-raising clock-dangling finale - a reckless,
'safety last,' humorous yet daredevil stunt on the side of a twelve-story
skyscraper above busy city streets:
- in the film's opening in the year 1922, the naive
Boy (Harold Lloyd) appeared behind vertical bars and a 'noose'
- presumably imprisoning jail bars and a hanging rope at an execution,
but he was actually at a train station; the bars were the train
station's gate barrier, and the noose was a track side pickup hoop
used by train crews to receive orders without stopping
- the Boy was preparing to travel on a train to the
big city from the rural town of Great Bend, and promising to send
for his fiancee - the Girl (Mildred Davis, Lloyd's future real-life
wife - this was the last time
he worked with her as his leading lady in a film) after he had
"'made good" with fame and fortune; he bid goodbye to his mother and
to the Girl: "Mother, Mildred has promised to come to the city,
and marry me - Just as soon as I've made good"
- in the city of Los Angeles, the Boy shared
a rented room with his Pal - "Limpy" Bill (Bill Strother,
with a real "human spider" act), a very agile construction worker; and
both were destitute; he showed off an expensive gift that he couldn't
afford for Mildred, a lavalliere (without a chain), and then confessed
that he had pawned off their phonograph player, and
was unable to afford their overdue rent ($14 dollars for two weeks); he admitted he had falsely
convinced Mildred that he was becoming successful and prosperous
- with gifts and positive letters about his many business deals
- the bookish-looking Boy eventually found work as
a low-paid, menial salesman in the De Vore Department
Store at the ladies' fabric cloth counter; early one morning before
his 8 o'clock shift, he was accidentally transported to a distant
side of the city in a towel truck, and had to get back in 10 minutes;
he maneuvered onto an overloaded streetcar, two strangers' moving
cars, and an ambulance in order to return to work before being
fired; at the store, the very tardy Boy posed as a mannequin,
was transported into the store, and successfully avoided being
scrutinized and detected by the store's pompous floorwalker,
Mr. Stubbs (Westcott Clarke)
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Posing as a Mannequin
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Floorwalker Mr. Stubbs
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At the Fabric Counter
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- Harold bragged to his roommate
Bill about his 'pull' and insider status with the police: ("I can
do anything - and get away with it"); unfortunately, the prank or
practical joke against a cop - a representative of the Law (Noah
Young) failed miserably, and to escape, Bill was forced to scale
the side of a building to elude the cop; he was threatened: "YOU'LL
DO TIME FOR THIS! THE FIRST TIME I LAY EYES ON YOU AGAIN, I'LL PINCH
YOU!"
- after Harold sent home another gift - a chain for
the lavalliere, the Girl's mother persuaded her to venture to the
city to be with him; when the Girl made a surprise visit to the store
during a frenzied fabric sale, he kept up the charade and pretense
(in many instances) that he was the store's general manager to
impress her
- after overhearing from the store's general manager
that $1,000 was to be offered to anyone who devised
a successful new publicity ('exploitation') gimmick to attract enormous
crowds of people to the store, the Boy (remembering his roommate's
talent) volunteered the idea of having a 'mystery man' ('human fly')
climb the 12-story Bolton building; he hired his roommate to perform
the thrilling stunt; their plan was to split the cash ($500 each)
after the stunt was accomplished
- the stunt was highly publicized
in newspapers and a large crowd gathered the next day to be spectators
at 2 pm, including the Law cop; unfortunately, as things turned
out, the Boy's Pal had to elude the pursuit of the cop, and the Boy's
efforts to ditch the cop also failed; viewed in an early backward
tracking shot, the Boy was pursued by the suspicious cop; ultimately,
the Boy was forced to climb to the second floor level in his place;
he was dismayed when at that level and every other level, his buddy
(who was being chased up the levels INSIDE the building) couldn't
replace him; on each new floor, the Boy was coaxed to go one
floor higher (e.g., "You'll have to go one more floor, till I ditch
the cop")
- the film's most celebrated sequence - the mild-mannered
and timid Boy's suspenseful, slapstick-filled daredevil, perilous climb
up the side of the big-city building, inching his way up to the top
one hand and foot hold after the other
- at every floor, the
Boy was beset by an absurdly incredible array of problems (pesky,
flapping pigeons who feasted on nuts that had fallen on him from
above, a volleyball net that became enveloped around him,
painters who thrust a protruding 2 x 4 wooden paint platform/trestle
at him, a swinging window, an enormous clock (see below), a rope,
a vicious dog, a flagpole, a mouse that climbed up his pants leg,
a photographic subject who was posing with a gun pointed at him at
the exact moment the flash exploded, a revolving anemometer (wind
gauge) that struck him a dizzying blow, and a second rope entangled
around his ankle which swung him pendulum-like and upside-down from
the top of the building)
- during the climb, he was encouraged by onlookers,
and also annoyingly cautioned and advised: (e.g. Why dontcha take
that net off? It's in your way," "Young man, don't you know you
might fall and get hurt," and "Great! You got the right idea, kid.
That's the best one you've pulled yet")
Various Obstacles During the Climb
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Pigeons
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Volleyball Net
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Wooden Painting Trestle
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Swinging Window
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Rope
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Dog and Flagpole
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Mouse in Pants-Leg
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Gun Pointed At Him
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Anemometer
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- the most-remembered obstacle was the clock - for
thrilling moments, he was seen hanging from the minute-hand of
the huge clock, dangling dangerously high above the busy street
as the clock-face pulled off the wall - while still wearing his
glasses (but he lost his hat)
- he finally swung upwards on the rope to the top of
the building, landed in the relieved Mildred's arms on the roof,
and received a great big kiss before they went off arm in arm -
our hero had proven his worth, become a success, earned the $1,000
prize money, and won the Girl
- unbeknownst to the Boy, he unintentionally tromped
through fresh tar on the roof of the building, leaving - in four
steps - his shoes and socks behind
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Bars and "Noose" - An Execution?
Goodbyes at Train Station with Mildred and His Mother
The Boy's Roommate 'Limpy Bill'
Expensive Gift for Mildred - Lavalier
Overcrowded Streetcar
Failed Prank Against a Cop (The Law) - Revealing Bill's 'Human Fly' Talent
Publicity For Skyscraper-Climbing Stunt
The Boy Trailed by the Suspicious Cop - Backward Tracking Shot
At the Second Level - The Swap of Identities Was Delayed
Swinging Like a Pendulum From Rope
Landing in Mildred's Arms For a Kiss - At Top of Building
On the Rooftop - Tromping Through Fresh Tar and Losing His Shoes
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